We are continuing to work on updates to our Privacy Policy and GDPR Compliance. Currently, I am missing certain information. That has been requested and will be added as soon as it is available. I am not able at this time to give an exact date for completion but I agree this is an urgent priority and will update the information ASAP.

OECD review of Irish Aid

Overall very positive. Some interesting recommendations. They're not sure about the move to Limerick, and want more communication with the public and so on. All in all, a very good report for Irish Aid though.

Where are people starving to death right now and where 'Irish Aid' is keeping them alive?

Where are we helping the Blind to see?

Well blind people are pretty much blind. I'm not sure Irish Aid, or anyone, is claiming they're curing blindness, and that's not what toxic avenger claimed.

In terms of answering your first question, Ethiopia.

Irish Aid in Ethiopia supports the Productive Safety Nets programme. The Safety Net programme attempts to alleviate the vulnerability to food shortages experienced by many Ethiopians. Malnutrition in Ethiopia is widespread with 47% of children under five suffering from wasting or stunting. Over half the population lives below the national poverty line; in some regions of the country this incidence of poverty is as high as 70%, and it is close to 85% in the worst-affected regions. For many Ethiopians, food security is uncertain even in good harvest years.

The Productive Safety Nets programme provides cash or food to 7 million chronically food insecure people in exchange for their participation in public works including building roads, schools and rehabilitating degraded land. Ireland contributed €10 million to this programme in 2007. Without this support by Ireland in conjunction with the UK, the European Commission, the World Bank, UN World Food Programme, USAID and Canada, it is estimated that between 5 and 7 million people in Ethiopia would face starvation each year.

For all I know in others of the countries IrishAid has a relationship with but I just picked the first one in the list fairly confident I'd get the material I needed and there ye go.

In terms of the second question, look under the health and water sanitation tabs. Preventable forms of blindness are often associated with clean water and IrishAid is investing money in projects delivering water sanitation projects in many parts of Africa.

There's a false argument here. The suggestion is that we should spend money to alleviate the suffering of people here in Ireland. I agree with that. Actually I think we should spend a lot more money doing that. I don't think it's impossible for us to do that and to meet our pledges on international aid. I don't think it's a choice between helping homeless people in Dublin and helping starving people in Malawi.

It's a simpler choice.

It's a choice between whether the JP McManus' of the world gets a second yacht or whether a school in Uganda gets a water supply. People who are suffering in Ireland are not suffering because of people in Uganda. They're suffering because they're being exploited by Irish business and being undermined and left defenceless by the Irish Government. It's a peculiar sort of response to decide the best way to respond to Irish people exploiting other Irish people is to leave starving communities without food.

Well that's why the OECD reviews them. It's why they're obliged to report to the Oireachtas and to account to it. It's why the Department of Foreign Affairs also carries out its own reviews of Irish Aid and it's independently audited.

I suppose it's possible that close to a dozen governments, the Oireachtas, an entire civil service department, development ngos and organisations, the OECD, independent monitors, policy analysts, academics and journalists who have visited Irish Aid projects are all engaged in a massive conspiracy to divert that money to...ummm...I don't know..

I'm also curious as to what evidence you have for Irish Aid lieing?

On Ethiopia, I didn't look at the link (Sorry) but to be honest I assumed they had a huge army. I'd have been shocked if they didn't. It's less than a decade since they fought a three year war with their next door neighbour with almost a couple of hundred thousand casualties. I'm all for reducing your military spending but I tend to have a more relaxed view of countries with big armies who've recently had to use them.

The other thing is that people often think that the problem is one of money, or corruption. And it certainly can be. It can also be lack of education. For example, Irish Aid have helped introduce new maize seeds to Tanzania. It's doubled the amount of maize farms can produce. http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/Uploads/T...ed%20maize.pdf You don't need money, as much as education and research, also costing money of course but not in the same way.

One last thing, as I'm off to bed. Irish Aid have offices on the top of O'Connell Street. They're open to the public and have a huge amount of information about what they do. They also have people there to answer your questions. It's your money and you've every right to go in and ask them what they're doing with it. I'd highly recommend it next time you're in town.

Ahhh, but I know what you're thinking. How do we know they spent the money on an office? Maybe they lied and it's not really there and then you would have wasted the trip into town.

Don't worry chara, I've got your back. I've been in it a couple of times (No, I don't work for Irish Aid or any organisation funded by Irish Aid or have ever worked for any organisation ever funded by Irish Aid) and it's definitely there.